ST215 Swap Q & A Plus CEL Codes

Speedricer

New member
I have had several people asking questions about the 215 swap so I thought we should start a thread on it. Feel free to ask any questions on this topic so everyone else can see, not that I won't answer PM's but I have been receiving some of the same questions from several people.
First of all I would recommend using Dr. Tweak for the wiring harness part of the swap, I ended up making my own but looking back at it I would have bought one. I will still try to answer any electrical issues if you try to make your own.
Second is Dr. Tweak has means to make the downpipe to mate up to the turbo...I made my own and modified my old pipe to work.
If you have done the swap and want to add your input that would be awesome.
Thanks, Eric
 

Droptop93

New member
Good thread Eric!
Are motor mounts the same?
Where did you get your engine set from?( I know you told me at the meet but I forgot)
Any issues with using the at ecu vs mt ecu?
Any parts you recomemd upgrading before it goes in?

Just throwing out some question that other members might want to know

Btw since your close when I finally get my motor you wanna come down and help?
 

Speedricer

New member
The motor mounts are different so I used my stock motor mounts, the 215 motor is still a 3s motor so they bolt up. I would recommend new or fill your old motor mounts, mine were in bad shape.
I bought my motor off ebay from a seller in Canada, $300 shipping.
I used the stock a/t ecu without using the tranny, I do not know if the m/t fits or has the right gear ratio, if someone else has done this swap please share. For the fwd guys, the 215 also has a fwd m/t setup that may work well.
The a/t ecu can be ran without codes, I don't know if the fuel curves are different between the two.
Upgrades are close to the same as the other 3s motors, I did some of the basics.
During the swap I had the head ported and polished but it didn't show very good gains from stock so maybe just a valve grind. Stock the motor has a mls head gasket so if you don't pull it a part you will be ok.

Btw since your close when I finally get my motor you wanna come down and help?
I will need to see how busy I am at that time
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Besides the wiring harness, are there any major snafus or custom bits that need to be taken into account over a regular engine swap?

Oh yeah, will the ST215 intercooler clear the stock alltrac hood?
 

Speedricer

New member
The next biggest issue is the down pipe, after that it is almost a direct swap.
I used my stock tranny and clutch and they bolt right up.
As far as the 215 ata intercooler, I have no idea. I still have it and can try installing it but you will have to wait about a month until I get my car over to the shop that I store it at, that's where all my parts are at.
 

Speedricer

New member
Here are the St 215 Engine codes :D
St215Codes1.jpg

[/img]
St215Codes2.jpg

St215Codes3.jpg

[/img]
St215Codes4.jpg

St215Codes5.jpg

[/img]
St215Codes6.jpg
 

lumbercis

Moderator
No biggie about the IC. I overlooked that you had a FMIC.

Nice to know it's pretty much drop-in if you farm out the wiring. I've got my eye on this as one of my first mods when the new vehicle arrives.

Do you have your FMIC mounted yet? Post pics of the pipe routing when you are finished!
 

Droptop93

New member
To answer the ic question: no it won't clear the stock at hood. A member on celicatech just completed the swap on his gts and he had to cut away some of the underneath of the hood(the skeleton)and then it fit. Not sure if you used spacers on the hinges if it would do the same thing(to prop of the rear of the hood like they do with the drift cars )
And he does have the fmic installed not sure if I got a pic of it or not when we had our meet in September

I can't wait to get my swap someday.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Oh, another question I forgot to ask: Are all accessories functional on your swap? AC, CC, PS?

Does everything on your gauge cluster function?
 

lumbercis

Moderator
I'm no expert on ECUs, but I imagine the fuel and timing tables would be more optimized with the Caldina ECU. i.e you'd lose power with the 185 ECU.
 

Speedricer

New member
The biggest reason the 185 ecu or 205 ecu will not work is because the 215 is a coil over plug engine using a crank and cam sensor for timing. The fuel and boost maps are better and go higher also.

I deleted the AC in my swap so I didn't bother following any of the electrical in that direction, mechanically it should work.

The CC works to a degree. This I believe is ran by a separate control module under glove box.

I used my old power steering pump because all the fittings and sensor are a little different but I'm sure it could be used.

All my gauges work, I did need to buy a signal converter for the tach.
 

Speedricer

New member
Here is a pic of my FMIC in a stock alltrac bumper. I had to remove the stock fog lights to get it to fit. Looks like I have some cancer to deal with under there.
SANY0660.jpg
[/img]
 
Top